Epistle for the 5th Sunday of Easter 10 May 2020

1 Peter 2:2-10

Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture:

“See, I am laying in Zion a stone,

a cornerstone chosen and precious;

and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe,

“The stone that the builders rejected

has become the very head of the corner”,and

“A stone that makes them stumble,

and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Once you were not a people,

but now you are God’s people;

once you had not received mercy,

but now you have received mercy.

Reflection       Acknowledging God as the rock, the foundation of our lives requires a reordering of everything else.

By choosing God we commit ourselves to turn away from competing loyalties.  In Biblical times these competing loyalties or false gods were named Baal, Molech, Ashtoreth, Chemosh, Artemis, and others. Our ancient ancestors carved these gods in wood and molded them in gold. These were the pagan gods in competition with YHWH, the One God of Israel.

Today our false gods have names like  money, religion, politics, rights and freedom, sex, sports, celebrity, drugs, add your own to the list. I believe the idol in position number one is, self.  How do we know these are false gods? Because false gods are things that occupy an inordinate amount of our attention, action and resources. Please underline the word ‘inordinate.’ 

None of these interests; money, youth, religion, politics, rights and freedom, sex, sports, celebrity, drugs or self are false gods in and of themselves. In fact, they can be worthy assets.  Idolatry comes into play when we devote an unwarranted or wasteful amount of our attention, action or resources to them.  It is when we ascribe a surplus of meaning and value to theses interests that they become false gods or idols.

Here is the glitch. By claiming to revere the One, Holy and Living God at the same time we make great offerings of our attention, action and resources to false gods or idols we are effectively condemning ourselves to life in the middle of a combat zone. At best we are restless, at worst worried sick, as our false idols compete with the One, Holy and Living God for our attention, our action and our resources. No peace will be found on this battleground.

What then shall we do? Let me suggest that in an unforeseeable twist of events, the onslaught of Covid-19 addresses our dilemma.  The insidious intrusion of the grim virion shut down historic institutions, power brokering agencies and brought the world to its knees. Recently someone put it this way, “It is as if God sent us all to our rooms!” That image strikes home for me. Too many times I heard, “Young lady, go to your room and write five hundred times, “I will be kind to my little brother.” But I digress.

Here is the startling paradox. The cost of the pandemic is unfathomable to victims, their families, those who lost their livelihood, their homes and their hope. And at the same time, the shutting down of public institutions has created the spaciousness for us to go to our rooms, examine and reorder our lives while the earth is healing her waters, air and atmosphere.

The question is, will we consent to this challenging moment and devote our attention, actions and resources to fostering right relationship with God, our neighbors and the earth? Or, will we join the chorus complaining, looking for someone to blame, demanding things go back to the way they used to be?

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Gospel text for Sunday 12 May 2019

John 10:22-30        At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." Jesus answered, "I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one.”

Reflection       Thanks to the brave guerilla fighter Judas Maccabee, in the year 166BCE the Temple building is restored to holiness, the center of Jewish worship is intact. Still, two hundred years later in John's gospel text the Jews  are looking for the Messiah, the king or high priest who will lead them to a happily ever after life. Lately many of them have seen and almost all of them have heard about the man Jesus, the inscrutable prophet who touches and heals, teaches with authority, forgives unconditionally, offers hope to all people, and at the same time he is irreverent, hangs out with all the wrong folks,  violates  Temple traditions and discredits the orthodoxy of the elite religious and political authorities. 

The Jews are not sure what to make of Jesus. So when they see him  “walking in the Temple, in the portico of Solomon” they ask him, “If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” But Jesus’ speech is anything but plain. Of course, they do not understand. They cannot hear the deep meaning of Jesus’ words.  They cannot see that Jesus embodies the temple, the new way of worship in Spirit and in Truth. (John 4.23) I believe this is what Jesus was alluding to earlier in John’s gospel when he drove the vendors who were selling sheep and cattle, doves and money out of the Temple and said, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2.19)      

From our privileged point of view two thousand years later, we know Jesus is not talking about a superhero’s brick and mortar magical building plan.  Jesus is talking about his own body, all of our bodies, as the new temples of God, the new places of holiness. And, Jesus did not make this up.

From the very beginning we hear in one of our Genesis creation myths God speaking, “‘Let Us make humankind in Our image, in Our likeness’…. So God created humankind in God’s own image…” (Gen 1.26-27) Like Jesus, all of humanity is meant to be the dwelling place, the temple, the image of God. The contemporary theologian and wisdom bearer, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks cites Leviticus in which “The Lord says to Moses: “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them, ‘Be holy because I, the Lord, your God, am holy,’” (Lev 19.1-2) and  goes on to explain, this is the first time such an all inclusive command from God is resolutely articulated. Sacks writes, “It is life itself that is to be sanctified…  Holiness is to be made manifest in the way the nation makes its clothes and plants its fields, in the way justice is administered, workers are paid, and business conducted. The vulnerable – the deaf, the blind, the elderly, and the stranger – are to be afforded special protection. The whole society is to be governed by love, without resentments or revenge.”*

Sacks calls this “the radical democratisation of holiness.” Prior to this communication between God and Moses the Jews understood the place of the Temple to be holy and only certain designated holy people, the priests, had access to it. So this is a great re-turning point in our human story,  an expanded understanding of our relationship with God and one another. We are all meant to be holy, to be temples of the living God, which means all people are to be dignified and cared for, at least as well as we care for our temples, our churches, our homes. 

As we remember the Festival of the Dedication of the Temple shall we rededicate our selves, our souls and bodies as the new temples of God? Shall we reaffirm our commitment to dignify and care for all people as well as we care for our brick and mortar homes, churches and temples? 

* Rabbi Sacks blog  Covenant and Conversation, 8 May 2019

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Gospel text for Sunday 17 April 2016

John 10:22-30        At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." Jesus answered, "I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one.”

Reflection        We have all experienced listening and not listening; being listened to and not being listened to. It reminds me of a scene from the movie "The Life of Brian,” the scene is the sermon on the mount and the viewer is standing at the back of the a large crowd when Jesus says , "Blessed are the meek." And an old woman asks the person next to her, "What did he say?" "Blessed are the Greeks."  Then Jesus says, "Blessed are the peacemakers." A bystander kind of scratches her head and repeats, "Blessed are the cheese makers,” then passes the good news along. Listening is not simple. Speaking is not plain. It is multilayered.

Listening has a lot to do with our expectations. When we are like sheep, vulnerable and expecting goodness and blessing from our shepherd, we are inclined to hear good news or blessing no matter what the circumstance. So the Greek woman in the crowd hears …"blessed are the Greek.”  

When we are like sheep we hear the shepherd's voice and it reaches beyond our ears to the deepest truest part of our selves. It is there, in Spirit, that we receive eternal life. Does eternal life mean the our bodies will never die? No. Eternal life is life in the Spirit that hears the message deeper than words and sees beyond external appearances of separation, fear, loss and death. This is what Jesus meant when praying, “The glory that you (Father) have given me I have given them (that would be us) so that they may be one as we are one. I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one…” (John 17.22-23) Still the shepherd’s message is hard to hear.

We have been conditioned to hear bad news rather than blessing. This prevents us from listening deeply.  Our prejudices and fears are like little officials who live inside us and constantly evaluate what we hear, make judgments about the speaker, sure up our defenses and cling to our beliefs. Beliefs such as,"I know the world revolves around the earth because we humans are the center for everything." To really listen we must set aside our interior dialogues, judgements and beliefs. When we pause and are inclined to hear blessing, we listen into the place of the eternal, the place where the distinction between me, you and God dissolves and we meet in Spirit. This is holy encounter, being in spirit and in truth. 

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Gospel text for Sunday 15 November 2015

Mark 13:1-8

As Jesus came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!" Then Jesus asked him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?" Then Jesus began to say to them, "Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, `I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.”

Reflection      Many of us have experienced the crumbling of our “temples;” loss of a job, death of a loved one, financial crisis, terminal diagnosis, or any social or emotional situation that leaves us standing or lying knee deep in the rubble of our lives and wondering, “Can anything good come of this?” And Jesus answers, “This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.” 

Anyone who has given birth or known someone who has given birth knows that the vagaries of pregnancy and even the earth quaking pangs of labor pale in comparison to the whole life changing relationship that is born. Rules that described or governed life before the birth are upended. Returning to Jesus’ imagery, the large stones upon which pre-birth life seemed to be built are thrown down and life as before the birth is dismantled.

This is what Jesus is telling the disciples and us. When everything that is comfortable, stable and predictable on the outside is stripped away (in other words, when our temple walls are thrown down), we are invited to turn around and look inside for comfort and stability that does not depend on external circumstance. We can do this because we are more than what is happening to us. We are participants in the unborn, undying, eternally unchanged Divinity that unites us to one another in God.

Does this mean there is no place for temples in our lives? Absolutely not. Temples protect our truths and mysteries and sustain our wisdom traditions. They are the rock upon which we build our faith and our refuge among friends and ancestors who accompany us along the way. Still, temples must point beyond themselves to the entirety of creation steeped in God because temples will always crumble but the Word God, that was and is and is to come is always and everywhere present, beyond the confines of any temple walls.

Image  Dali's "The Tower"

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Gospel text for Sunday 2 February 2014

Luke 2:22-40        When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, the parents of Jesus brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord"), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

"Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,

according to your word;

for my eyes have seen your salvation,

which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles

and for glory to your people Israel."

And the child's father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, "This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed-- and a sword will pierce your own soul too."

There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

Reflection          By every account Simeon and Anna expected the Abrahamic Covenant with God to be fulfilled, which is to say, they could imagine and looked forward to the time when all of Israel would be a holy nation and all that God promised would be fulfilled. So they conducted their lives in accord with the religious obligations set out in the Torah. They cultivated the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting and worship. Throughout their lengthy lives they lived in relationship with God and when the Presence of Emmanuel, God with us was revealed, they recognized him. 

Today we look at Anna and Simeon’s lives and protest, “Yes, but this is the 21st century. I can’t, or don’t want, to live in a temple or a monastery. Not all of us are cut out for the religious life.”  If he were alive I imagine Brother Lawrence would reply, “Not so fast. By practicing the presence of God we can make our 21st century lives temples for God.” 

Born in 1614 Brother Lawrence was a lay brother in a Carmelite monastery in Paris. He didn’t have the education to be a cleric so was assigned to the kitchen and repairing sandles. It was while doing these tedious tasks that Br. Lawrence developed his rule for “Practicing the Presence of God,” (also the name of his classic book.) He wrote,  "Men invent means and methods of coming at God's love, they learn rules and set up devices to remind them of that love, and it seems like a world of trouble to bring oneself into the consciousness of God's presence. Yet it might be so simple. Is it not quicker and easier just to do our common business wholly for the love of (God)?" 

For Brother Lawrence the expectation that God is present in every moment of our lives is pivotal. When we do every task expecting God present every moment of our ordinary life has incomparable value. He wrote, "The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees before the Blessed Sacrament.”

Anna and Simeon found their relationship with God in the Jerusalem temple. It was the symbolic focus of divine Presence, the place where heaven and earth mingled. Brother Lawrence expands the location of “the temple” to include all of life. When we approach all of life as “the temple” we are as righteous as Simeon and may well expect to experience the Presence of God with us. When we order our days with prayer, fasting and worship we too will receive the Wisdom of Anna, praise God and speak well of the One whom all are seeking.

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Luke 21:5-19     When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, Jesus said, "As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down."

They asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?" And he said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, `I am he!' and, `The time is near!' Do not go after them.

"When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately." Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.

"But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls."

Reflection    The refrain in Carly Simon’s song “Coming Around Again” speaks to the edge and the depth of our human experience of impermanence. “I know nothing stays the same but if you're willing to play the game it's coming around again. So don't mind if I fall apart. There's more room in a broken heart.” Indeed, “not one stone will be left upon another.” There will be “wars and insurrections,”  not to mention “earthquakes, famines, plagues” and typhoons that kill more than three thousand island people. 

The writer of Luke’s gospel minces no words, we cannot hold onto the things of this world. We cannot “prepare our defense in advance” against the ebb and flow, the jig and jag of all that is created (and that includes natural disasters and even our “parents and brothers, relatives and friends” who will disappoint and betray us). The question that pushes on me is, if nothing that I see stays the same, how then am I to play the game?

Jesus answers the question with unequivocal clarity, “make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.” In other words, put all (not some) all of our trust in Jesus, the risen Christ who is with us and for us. Rather than rely on things that we see, rely on the wisdom and grace of Divine Presence with us. 

It is inevitable that every stone of the temple will fall, which is to say, everything that is seen and has been humanly constructed including, social, political and religious instutions, will break down and cause much upheaval. In stark contrast to all that is seen and  thus impermanent, unseen God is eternal, always and everywhere Present, with and for all of us. 

In this world of ours there is no escaping change and yes even suffering. Still, in the darkest days when all seems lost, the unborn, undying Divine Reality we call God rises to fill the empty room in our broken hearts. 

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Gospel text for Sunday 21 April 2013

John 10:22-30       At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." Jesus answered, "I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one."

Reflection        To what shall I dedicate my life? This is a question that has poked and prodded me for decades. This is a question that whispers to me in my dreams and pulls me in and out of relationships. In my most acquisitive phase I must confess that I gave my life in exchange for tokens of security, promises of affection and badges of success. I lived Western culture’s dream, I won and I came out empty handed. Like the stones of the Jews’ first temple, the altars I constructed to my self fell to ruin. Then, like the Jews, I too lived in exile. With a heart full of useless tokens, broken promises and tarnished badges I wandered and wondered, what does it mean to have a dedicated life?

When we dedicate something we set it apart, we consecrate it and make it holy. That’s what the religious Jews did when they rebuilt the destroyed altar to God and then celebrated the festival of the Dedication every year near the winter solstice in Jerusalem. I believe these faithful religious folk quit working too soon.  They thought they were finished when the external work of building the temple was complete, when the outward signs of success were assembled. They failed to do the interior work, the work of the world within, the work that happens in the hidden spaciousness of the holiest of holies.

Jesus alone proceeded from the outward and visible signs that pointed to God to being in dedicated relationship with God whom he called Father. Jesus found his source, his origin in relationship with God who is hidden in the holiest of holy interior spaces. I suspect this is the reason he referred to God as Father. Jesus saw that all the outward signs of authority, success or power manifest through him were gifts that were born of his relationship with God. Jesus did not claim the signs of power, authority or success for himself. He attributed all that he did to his unwavering relationship with God whom he called Father.

And this I believe is the secret of a dedicated life. It is a life lived in committed relationship in both the visible and invisible worlds. It is a life understood as finding meaning and purpose in more than itself. It is a life given to do the work of another for another. It is a life in which each is dedicated to the other because all that is good and righteous is born of relationship. It is a life in which the two are one and the one is two. 

Paul’s words to the Corinthians come to mind.  “Do you know that you are God’s temple and ....God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” (3.16-17)